Christmas is meant to be a time of cheer where people get together to spend time with family, exchange gifts and eat a delicious slap-up meal.

But sadly this will not be a reality for some people in Hull, who are facing life on the streets during the festive season.

To encourage the homeless to find a warm bed for the night, the community team at Pearson Park Police Station, in partnership with staff from Humbercare, have stepped up evening patrols to try to make sure no-one is sleeping rough in the city.

PC Scott Greenwood has been on the beat around the Avenues on a weekly basis for the past six weeks along with Emma Wagner from Humbercare to make sure that people are not begging or bedding down around Princes and Newland Avenue and the surrounding areas for the evening.

Watch: Two homeless men in Hull talk about what it is like to live on the street

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So far the scheme has been effective, and on Monday night we joined them on their vehicle patrol, along with PC Craig Mulvana and Abbie Witherwick, also from Humbercare.

Throughout the evening we drove around in the van looking for those sitting about on the street and saw five men sleeping rough.

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Emma advised all of them where to go for emergency accommodation so that they were not out in the cold and in a friendly manner, the men were also told by PC Greenwood to move on and not to be seen sitting in the street again, or else face criminal sanctions.

One such man that Emma had worked hard with to get off the street is Ben Brickwood, who we saw walking about on Princes Avenue. He told us that he was "Emma's protege" because she worked for more than a year to get him in to the hostel where he now lives, and he could not be more grateful.

Mark gets no more than three hours sleep a night (Image: Hull Live)

"I was begging on the streets of Hull for six years until I eventually went in to Dock House," said Ben, 33, from Driffield. "I had a £100 a day drug habit and I relied on begging to fuel my addiction.

"It was hard to break the cycle of being on the street, but I'm so glad that I did."

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However, not everyone is ready to accept the help that is offered to them by organisations like Humbercare. We met Chris who was begging on the street outside Tesco in Newland Avenue.

He refused the offer of accommodation and said that he had been on the streets for the last 23 years and could "look after himself."

Mark Donnison is living on the streets (Image: Hull Live)

Mark Donnison, 48, said that he was planning to spend the night under the roof of Lidl as he did not want to go in a temporary accommodation hostel and instead wanted to find somewhere permanent to live.

He said: "I've been sleeping on the streets for the past month and it's just horrible - I feel like people just look through you like you're not a real person and that nobody really cares.

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"I don't get anything more than three hours sleep on a night because it's so cold and uncomfortable and because I'm scared of being robbed, even though I don't really have any money for anyone to take.

"I feel like ending it all sometimes and feel very disillusioned - PC Greenwood is a good guy and I think what they are doing is good, but I hate feeling like a burden.

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"I'm not a junkie and I want to work but it's tough when you've got no fixed address - at the moment I've been volunteering down Newland Avenue by sweeping up the leaves and cleaning up the shop fronts to give back a little in my own way to the people that have been feeding me and giving me clothes along there."

Now, instead of issuing CBOs or issuing dispersal orders which prevents beggars from coming back to an area for 24 hours, the police have decided to take the long term approach of working with Humbercare to get people off the streets rather than penalising them.

So far, so good

The combination of Humbercare working in partnership with Humberside Police has been positive according to Emma, 36, who volunteers her time on an evening as well as working her normal hours at Humbercare in the day.

She said: "We have the knowledge to signpost people correctly and generally we will know who the people are on the street so already have a relationship with them so know their needs and backgrounds.

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Homelessness in Hull

"As we don't come across as authority figures, I think it diffuses some of the tension when we go out with the police, as it is less confrontational and it means we can often speak to the person on the street and try to help, rather than them running off as they often do when they see the police approaching them on their own.

"At this time of year with the cold weather it is more important than ever that we get people in to accommodation and the help and hostels are there for people that want it.

Emma Wagner and PC Greenwood speaking to a homeless man on their patrol (Image: Hull Live)

"We've had a lot of successes from outreach work like this, and it really makes my job worthwhile when I see how we have helped people turn their lives around."

Begging hotspots have decreased

Even though the problem of homelessness and begging has not yet been eradicated around the Avenues, the team said that it had decreased since last year and they felt that the patrols were a part of this.

We drove past a sheltered area next to Art Link on Beaver Street where homeless people reportedly slept and had sex, but the area was empty, as was the Sainsburys on Newland Avenue, where beggars are often spotted.

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A popular spot for begging has been identified as under the roof outside Lidl on Cottingham Road, as it is somewhere for homeless people to keep dry and customers will often give them food and drink after they have been shopping.

During our visit there we saw two homeless people who were asked to move on and advised of where to go for accomodation.

Operation Ignition

PC Greenwood wants to prevent begging long term (Image: Hull Live)

At the end of the evening, PC Greenwood said that the patrol had been positive and that they would be continuing as part of Operation Ignition.

He said there had been 178 arrests from after the end of October in relation to begging, breach of CBOs and dispersal orders but stressed that long term, the police want to help people find accommodation rather than just sanctioning them.

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"As part of the patrols we've been doing, many of the beggars on the Avenues have taken up beds for the winter," said PC Greenwood.

"I'm a police officer and my job is to arrest people, but it is also about solving the problem of begging long term, which we think is best achieved by working with agencies like Humbercare to educate people on the street and point people in the direction of where they can find help, rather than issuing dispersal orders that are often breached.

Emma Wagner and PC Scott Greenwood (Image: Hull Live)

"As a community beat manager I really want to help people get off the streets and if they want the help, then the help is there."

The officer also encouraged people not to give money to the homeless but instead to provide food and drink, and directed that anyone who witnesses begging should report this to the police on 101.

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